Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs) got back on the knockout path Saturday night, stopping unheralded Welshman Gary Lockett (30-2) with a punishing assault in the third round of his first title defense before a raucous crowd at Boardwalk Hall.

Nearly everyone considered Lockett a mere tuneup for the hard-punching Pavlik, who captured the WBC and WBO versions of the middleweight championship when he stopped previously unbeaten Jermain Taylor in the same building last September.

Lockett did little to prove the contrary.

* Juan Manuel Lopez stopped Daniel Ponce De Leon in the first round to capture the WBO super bantamweight title.

Lopez, who turned professional just a few years ago, knocked down Ponce De Leon seconds into the fight with a left to the body. The Mexican champion struggled to get up from that blow, then got trapped in the corner and absorbed five hard shots to the head before going down for good.

* Sergio Mora is The Contender no more.

Mora won the WBC super welterweight title in Uncasville, Conn., outpointing Vernon Forrest.

Mora, the winner on the inaugural season of ''The Contender'' boxing show, is the first world champion to have appeared on the show.